Chapter 66: Merciless Sword of Death

  Zhao Xing let out a long sigh as he sat in the car, muttering to himself: "This is killing me! Dealing with literary people is really exhausting!"

  Zhang Wangcai, who was in a hurry to catch the bus, was very familiar with Zhao Xing and joked: "Master Zhuang, you are indeed a literary star descended from heaven. When literati see you, they all become as docile as kittens."

  Zhao Xing smiled wryly and did not respond. He couldn't possibly tell Zhang Wangcai that all his ink was obtained through plagiarism, could he? Even if he said so, no one in the world would believe him. The things he plagiarized were all the essence of Chinese poetry after the Han Dynasty, which no one had created yet. Sometimes, Zhao Xing even thought maliciously, whether to steal and use the articles written by the three Cao family members who were listed as "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove" in the Jin Dynasty, and see how they would deal with it afterwards.

  It was already late at night, and after drinking a lot of self-brewed liquor, Zhao Xing sat drowsily in the carriage, not having much thought to linger on the streets where brothels were still open from time to time. When the carriage had traveled one mile away from the Stepping Wide Inn, it suddenly stopped.

  "Master, there are a few drunkards lying across the road ahead. I'll go and move them to one side," Zhang Wangcai said into the carriage, not waiting for Zhao Xing's response before getting down from the horse-drawn vehicle.

  Dazed, Zhao Xing habitually replied "Uh, okay..."

  "Halt!" Zhao Xing shouted loudly as he suddenly came to his senses!

  "Ah!" A miserable cry rang out, and Zhang Wangcai, who went forward to support the drunkard, was suddenly leaped up by a drunkard with one sword piercing his chest, and fell to the ground in pain. Those several fake drunkards, masked killers, did not wait for Zhang Wangcai to fall to the ground, had already drawn out their long swords, surrounding Zhao Xing's carriage all around.

  "Kill!" A masked assassin gave a brutal order.

  "Clang!" Several long swords stabbed towards the carriage wall from different directions.

  All that could be heard was a "whooshing" sound, and the decorative carriage wall was slashed to shreds by several long swords. Just as the carriage wall was torn apart, a sudden change occurred, and a figure leapt from the top of the carriage, pouncing straight onto the back of the terrified screaming horse.

  Zhao Xing let out a loud "Wait!" just as he was fully alert, drawing his long sword and making a crouching thrusting motion in the carriage. When the side wall of the carriage was slashed open by someone with a long sword, he stored up his strength and leapt onto the horse's back. Because from several directions, only the position where the horse was located had not been occupied by assassins, it was easy to land and see clearly the attacker's offensive strategy.

  "Cut off his horse's legs!" The masked leader gave the order as soon as he saw Zhao Xingyue jumped onto the horseback.

  A "pfft" sound of a long sword entering flesh was heard, and the severely injured horse immediately let out a pained whinny.

  As several assassins hacked at the horse's legs, Zhao Xing also charged towards a killer on the left. "Clang, clang!" The two long swords collided fiercely, sparks flying everywhere. Before the opposing assassin could make his next move, Zhao Xing's empty left hand suddenly produced a military dagger out of thin air, and with a swift motion, stabbed it into the masked man's right chest, just below the liver. The masked man let out a blood-curdling scream, dropped his sword, clutched at his chest, and fell to the ground, unable to utter a word.

  “Whoosh”, Zhao Xing swiftly pulled out his dagger, not caring that the black blood spraying from it splattered onto his hand. He exerted force and charged towards the opening he had created for himself. Hearing the sound of a long sword slicing through the air behind him, Zhao Xing flipped his right hand over, holding the sword down against his back, before taking several frantic strides forward. Finding a blind spot, he suddenly spun around, positioning the sword horizontally across his chest, while his left hand tightly gripped the dagger still dripping with blood, glaring furiously at the remaining three people.

  Seeing Zhao Xing had no way out, three masked killers took triangular positions and forced him forward.

  Zhao Xing was fearless and undaunted, wielding his long sword with great force to repel the three-man pincer attack. Before the trio could regroup, Zhao Xing's left hand suddenly shot out like an arrow released from a bowstring, sending his dagger flying towards the throat of one of the assassins on his left side.

  A low, mournful cry of "Ah" sounded, and the killer on the left was pierced through the throat by a dagger thrown out by Zhao Xing, falling to the ground at an angle. The remaining two killers saw that Zhao Xing had killed two of their brothers with just a blink of his eye, and they couldn't help but turn red-eyed, becoming even more reckless as they pounced forward.

  "Ah!" Zhao Xing shouted, making the motion of throwing a dagger again. The two assassins saw Zhao Xing's action and hastily dodged to the side, but it was all part of Zhao Xing's plan. Seizing this opportunity, Zhao Xing launched a fierce attack on the assassin to his right. The two bandits opposite him realized they had fallen for Zhao Xing's trick and were furious, wishing they could chop into pieces the guy who had killed their two brothers. Unfortunately, before they could make another move, Zhao Xing's long sword had already pierced through one of the men on the right. In the blink of an eye, the chaotic battle scene transformed into a one-on-one duel between Zhao Xing and the leader of the assassins!

  "Who hired you to come and kill me?" Zhao Xing raised the long sword in his hand, his eyes bursting with a fierce and murderous glow as he asked coldly.

  "Hmph, you think I'd betray my employer?" The leader of the assassins replied disdainfully.

  "This time, whether you speak or not, it's all the same - death! But if you do speak, I'll choose a place with good feng shui and have your brothers buried together. If you don't speak, I'll throw the four of their corpses into the latrines in the horse market, where they'll be splashed by the urine and feces of thousands and millions of people and horses, and you'll never be able to reincarnate!" Zhao Xing said with a sinister tone.

  "How dare you! Not thinking that as a general of the current dynasty, you would also be able to do such a despicable thing, you're not even human!" The masked leader was so enraged by Zhao Xing's intimidation that he cursed him loudly, saying he wasn't worth anything.

  "Hmph, for the likes of you who only recognize wealth and do not distinguish between good and evil, is it necessary to talk about propriety and shame?" Zhao Xing sneered. "Less nonsense, if you're not willing to reveal your employer, then go die!" Before he even finished speaking, Zhao Xing took a step forward, making a move as if to kill.

  "Halt!" The leader of the masked assassins was intimidated by Zhao Xing's hellish tactics and frightening words, hastily calling a stop, fearing that he would be buried in a dung pit after his death.

  "Does General Zhao still remember Zhang's family in Shangdang?" the masked leader asked.

  "Oh, so the Zhang family still hasn't given up on seeking revenge against me?" Zhao Xing had an expression of indifference. "Last time I let the Zhang family off easy, but they still don't repent? Then don't blame me for turning my back on them!" Zhao Xing muttered to himself, completely disregarding the assassin in front of him.

  "This time you hired someone, isn't it Zhang Wen, the steward of the court?" Zhao Xing asked.

  "General Zhao already knew, I hope General Zhao will keep his promise!" The masked leader finished speaking and suddenly rose up, with one sword slashing towards Zhao Xing, it was a desperate move.

  "Damn it! You're really courting death! If you want to take advantage of me, you'd better have a good set of teeth!" Zhao Xing swung his sword to block the assassin's attack, while simultaneously engaging in a fierce battle and loudly cursing. The opposing assassin had already lost their composure, relying solely on brute force to desperately fight for their life; once their momentum was suppressed by Zhao Xing, defeat was imminent.

  Zhao Xing suddenly revealed a flaw, his feet slipping to the side, and he was about to fall. The killer saw it in his eyes, using all his strength to swing his sword at Zhao Xing with both hands. Zhao Xing used his right hand to hold up his long sword horizontally to block the killer's fatal blow, while his left hand suddenly threw a heavy punch, swinging a cannon fist that hit the killer's temple, instantly ending the life of this killer leader.

  After checking around, he saw that all four assassins were dead, and the horse with severe leg injuries was lying on the ground whining incessantly. Only then did Zhao Xing put away his dagger and turned to check on Zhang Wangcai who had fallen silent. Don't blame Zhao Xing for being heartless, putting rescue last. It's just that Zhao Xing was too calm and had already analyzed all possible outcomes. He wouldn't let the enemy pretend to be dead and plot against him, nor would he go to rescue his companions when he himself was still in danger.

  Upon examination, Zhang Wangcai had indeed been killed. Zhao Xing let out a sigh and told himself in his heart that from now on, he would take good care of Zhang Zuolin, which would be considered as repaying the kindness of Zhang Wangcai's loyalty. Just as he was about to put Zhang Wangcai's body onto the horse carriage, Zhao Xing suddenly gripped the dagger tightly in his hand and slowly turned around, gazing intently into the distance of the street.

  "It seems there are quite a few people who want to kill me, Zhao Xing!" Zhao Xing sneered with a self-mocking smile, his hands gripping the long sword and dagger even more firmly.